ready to change over to live plants....help?!

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fort384 said:
If you aren't injecting co2, running an air stone will actually increase the co2 in the water, as it will keep the tank at equilibrium with air, right at about 7 ppm or so.


Does this apply when a glass topper is in place too?

I had read that if I leave my bubbler off it would increase the co2 in the water column and lower the pH (it seems to by .2-.4). I just figured it applied to planted tanks too.


Cobaltskyy said:
Ok scratching the floating plant idea....want type of plants would be good in the foreground for babies to hide in?

You could use a small bunch of Water Sprite for fry. I had some in and place it so one of my filter outputs "pushed" it to the left front corner of my DT (no plants under there). If it left the area, it would stay bunched up and kinda floated around so it never permanently shaded any one area and it's much better than Anacharis for fry IME.

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=53
 
Yes it applies with a top on the tank as well. I am thinking that the resulting change in pH may not be connected to CO2. If Co2 absorption from equilibrium with air was causing a drop in pH of 0.4, it would result in a CO2 differential of 10-20ppm CO2, depending on the corresponding KH. This would be an increase in CO2 higher than that of equilibrium (~7ppm), which would be impossible.

If you are not injecting CO2, and have no plants, the water would stay at equilibrium with the air (Because nothing is uptaking the co2). If you add plants, they will use available CO2 in the water. At equilibrium, the tank would be right around 7ppm. As the plants uptake CO2, nothing is injecting, so nothing is replacing that CO2 that is being used. By running an airstone, the water has more contact with the air, which would allow the tank to remain closer to equilibrium, even while the plants are using the co2.

If you are injecting co2, by running an airstone, you are helping that excess co2 in the water be off gased (as the water will continue to try and reach equilibrium with the air. This is why if you are injecting co2, you want to skip the airstone. A top is really not going to have much impact either way, unless the water level is all the way up flush with the top on the tank.
 
In a non planted tank, the use of a bubbler will often offgas co2, much like surface agitation from a filter would. When you have live plants that are utilizing the co2 in the water, the bubbler (or good surface agitation) will most likely add co2 to the water.
 
Thanks for the lesson on natural co2 and bubblers in planted tanks guys :D.

Sorry your thread got slightly hi-jacked Cobaltskyy, but we all learn from one another is my motto.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming lol.
 
Lol im like a sponge....im just absorbing all this info!......so if I up my lamps, use roots tabs, keep bubble wand I should have a lovely green tank???
I have a green thumb....how does that translate into aquarium plants? Lol blue thumb? Oh and do snails eat plants....I have a green nerite in wit my rasboras and ottos...eventually want 4 planted tanks!!! :D
 
It all comes down to what you want to do. I started with a couple bundles of Anacharis, basic lighting, no ferts and no co2. Since then I've upped my lighting, do a bit of liquid ferts and no co2. But I keep it at low/med plants.

Snails will eat algae off the plants IME, but should be fine other wise.
 
Cool I will keep everyone posted :) im thinking about getting the new bulbs this weekend then slowly trade out my fake plants for real ones
 
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